Staking and ironing machine



Oct. 4, 1938. w. F. AYLEs STAKING AND IRONING MACHINE Filled Jan. 21, 1957 05 l In] Patented Oct. 4, 1938 l y UNITED' STATES PATENT STAKING AND l IRoNING MACHINE Willian1 F. Ayles, Watford, Enganxl, as'signor to The Turner Tanning Machinery Company, Portland, Maieya'corporation of Maine Application January 21, 1937, Serial No. 121,636 VIn Great Britain February 3, 1936 This invention relates to Vmachines for YpertiOn; tensioning f the leather OI the iining forming finishing operations upon leather. While operation is secured by means comprising one or the invention is illustrated as embodiedin a mamore sets of staking tOGiS.` tlle PulDOse being t0 chine for staking and ironing light leathers, it, perform both ironing and staking of leather in A.is to be understood that the invention and vari- Substantially One Oliel'tiOn, unde` Cnditis 5 ous important features thereof may have other WhiCh Will permit efeCtiVe ironing 0f the leather applications and uses. Y without reducing `the softness secured by the Heretofore it has beenv customary to treat skins Staking Operation COnVeniently en ironing t0`0l wlth aaheated iron or platen following a staking is meunted f01" mOi/ement intO e Spee@ betWeeii operation. The reason Afor this Vresides in the a Set 0f staking tools and a Set of work engaging 1ol factthat, during staking of the skins lto stretch members in an arrangement wherein the leather and to soften them,`the grain surface is loosened iS held against the ieee 0f the ironing tOl undef or opened up to an undesirable-extent, By iron- Y considerable tension during relative movement ing the skins with a heated iron the grain surbetween the leather and said tools. If desired face is again tightened. Since, however, the ironn yielding bucking meinbei' may be proiyided te 15 i: ing is customarily acoomplishednnder conditions press the leather against the ironing Surface.

involving the application of relativelyheavy presbutthis is nOt neessey- Hence, While' the grain sure, the fibers ofthe leather are also crushed Surfen@ iS smoothedenii ffineii by the iiOning together. In other'words, the leather is contOOlf tile treatment Obi/lates anyY undesiialle densed to a substantial degree so that it is much ernennt Of illningf 0f @Ondensing V0f the leather 20 i rmer, thus neutralizing, to a considerable exsuch as would be eiected by .heavy ironing tent, the softenedcondition obtained by thestakpressureing operation.. This is particularly noticeable In a preferred CnStluCtiQn, the iIOning 0D- and objectionable in the'manufacture of glove eretiOn is peifeflnefl by el heated i10n having. a

'25 and garment leathers which should be specially Substantially COnVeX surfeee s0 that the` ironing 25 soft and pliable. eiect on the leather is variable, since it starts It is an object of this invention to perform and ends With e lighter pressure than at the in'- ironing operations upon skins in such manner telnleiate DOI'tiOn 0f greatest COlVeXity.-v Pfefas to improve the grain surface of skins which eably, elSO, tneletthei" iS pressed against the 3o have beeny staked without, at the same time, uniron by a yielding element WhiCh may take the 30 duly firming the staked skins.` It isa further form oi' a brush with yieldingvbristles, the latter object of the invention to` iron and Astake the iying als@ the unCtiOn 0f brushing the flesh skinsin one'operaticn and in such manner that surface of the leather while the grain suliuee the softness of the -skins obtained in the staking is being ironed. Y v H operation is not deleteriously affected by the iron- In a preferred form of the invention, the leather ing operation although the latter secures the d'eis first Spread Out and lightly staked and is then sired smoothing and tightening of the grain suralmost immediately treated to an ironing operafacev of the skins. tion, staking means being provided to operate on To these ends, and in accordance with an imthe flesh surface of the leather after the ironing 40 portant characteristic of the invention, ironing of the grain surface thereof. The arrangement 40 of the grain surface of leather is accomplished of the staking and ironing tools is such 'as to while the leather is under substantial tension. maintain the tension of the leather during the This makes it possible to dispense with the heavy staking and ironing operations. In this embodipressure which has heretofore accompanied all ment of the'invention, a slicker member is mountironing operations, whereby the grain surface ed to operate on the grain surface at substan- 45 may be tightened and smoothed without unduly tially the same time that the said staking tool nrming the leather. Another unexpected result treats the liesh suleCe 0f the leather.

ci this ironing under' tension is that some of the These and other important features of -the natural grease of the leather is brought to the invention and novel combinations of parts will surface ci the grain thereby preparing the leather now be described in detail in the specification and 50 for sulzzseoluent polishing and thus obviating or then pointed out more particularly in the apreducing the necessity for wiping over the' surpende'd claims.A face of the leather with a polishing preparation In the drawing, as has heretofore been the' custom. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of part of the arms In the illustrated embodiment of the inverror' jaws o'f a leather VstakingY machine with a 55 heating iron, a staking knife and associated parts in place thereon;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 and includes part of the framework of the machine; and

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view illustrating another embodiment `of the invention.

The illustrated embodiments of the invention are specially designed to perform staking and ironing operations upon light leathers such as are used in the manufacture of gloves and garments. Conveniently, the staking and ironing tools are shown attached to a staking machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 604,560, granted May 24, 1898, on an application filed in the names of J. Craig and F. F. Slocomb. In machines of this type, the Wooden arms or jaws A, B are pivoted on a cross head (not shown) working in a slide and driven by a connecting rod from a suitable crank (not shown). The leather to be treated is laid on a table (not shown) mounted upon frame members C of the machine,V and is held against the front end of the table by the operator, all as is well known in the art. The machine is constructed so that the arms or jaws are in a closed position during backward motion, i. e. in a direction away from the operator, and are open during forward motion thereof. As shown, these arms or jaws are mounted in a vertical plane one above the other.

For the purposes of the present invention, there are mounted on these arms or jaws A and B, respectively, castings or like carriers I and 2 to furnish support for the working implements of the machine. One of these attachments, for example the upper one, carries an iron comprising a shoe or body part 3 and a sole plate 4 adapted to be heated to perform an ironing operation on a piece of work. This sole plate 4 is convexly shaped from front to back (left to right as viewed in Fig. l of the drawing), the purpose of this being to enable the iron to operate initially with very light pressure, that is as it first engages the leather, then with increased pressure, that is at the middle of the sole plate, and finally with lighter pressure comparable to the pressure initially applied. The shaped operating surface of the sole plate 4 may be uniformly curved throughout. Alternatively, and as shown, it may be rounded at the middle and inclined or sloped in opposite directions from the middle to the ends. The inclined or sloping faces 4a thus formed may be flat or slightly curved outwards. In any case, the ironing surface may be regarded from the practical standpoint as convexly curved. The shoe or body part 3 is attached to lugs 5 on the carrier I by means of stud and nut fastenings 8 or equivalent means.

opposite casting or carrier 2, rangement illustrated, so that it overlaps the sole plate 4 at the front end of the latter. The knife or blade 1 is shown somewhat spaced from the iron 3, 4 for clearness. Conveniently, this blade is attached by screw bolts 8 and a clamp plate 9 to a holder I0 mounted upon parallel bars II rigidly xed in the casting or carrier 2 by binding screws or other suitable means (not shown). The holder I 0 is adjustable horizontally on the parallel bars II so as to enable it to be set adjacent to the forward end of the iron 3, 4 in such proximity thereto as to press the leather against that end of the plate 4, and is xed after adjustment by the described means provided for that purpose. The operative edge Ia of the knife or blade 'I is beveled or otherwise suitably shaped, similarly to a hand staking or perching blade or knife, in order to have the required softening effect upon the leather and particularly upon the fibers of the flesh surface of the leather. The edge 'Ia of the knife 'I is preferably plain and not wavy, for instance.

Mounted on the same casting or carrier as the knife, by means of brackets I2, is a bristled support consisting of a at brush I3. The brackets I2 are preferably mounted on'the casting or carrier 2 by screw bolt and slot fastenings indicated at I4, permitting a certain amount of horizontal adjustment together with the necessary vertical movement provided by the arm or jaw B. 'Ihe bristle member I3 constitutes in effect a flexible or resilient bolster which, as already alluded to herein, serves the dual purpose of holding the leather up to the iron with desirable resiliency, and at the same time brushes the flesh side of the leather during the operative strokes of the arms or jaws A and B, when these are in effect closed to bring the iron and brush into contact respectively with the grain and flesh sides of the leather.

In this particular embodiment of the invention, the heating of the iron is effected by electric elements (not shown) located in the shoe or body part 3 which is suitably shaped internally to receive them, and these elements are supplied with current from a' suitable source through means such as a bus bar or bars and a contact or contacts suitably mounted to move with the iron while maintaining contact with the bus bar or bars. Specifically, this is achieved by means of a series of bus bars I5 (Fig. 2) carried by a bracket I6 mounted on one of the frame members of the machine, and a corresponding series of contacts or brushes II carried respectively by holders I8 mounted on an extension of the gudgeon pin of the cross head, said holders I8 being suitably positioned on the extension by collars I9 and secured in position by means of a nut 20. The bus bars I5 are mounted on rods extending inwards from the bracket I6 and are arranged in spaced relation to correspond with the contacts or brushes I1 by means of collars 2I the whole being clamped in position by nuts such as 22.

The supply of the electric current to the bus bars is controlled by a switch 23 (Fig. 2) conveniently mounted on a cover or guard 24 for the bus bars. The guard or cover 24 may be made up of plates of metal or other suitable material such as ebonite or vulcanite, xed in position in any suitable manner. As wil be understood, suitable insulation is provided where necessary.

Concerning the heat treatment of the leather, the temperature to which the leather can be heated without detrimentally affecting it varies according to the nature of the tannage. For example, chrome tanned vleather and leather tanned with a synthetic tannage will withstand4 relatively high temperatures without detrimental effects, whereas leather tanned with a vegetable tannage or with alum will withstand only relatively low temperatures. For this reason, the temperature of the plate 4 is subject to variation over a relatively wide range, that is to say, the margin between the minimum temperature necessary to achieve the desired results and maximum safe temperature may be relatively wide. For instance, the minimum may be in the region of 150 F. and the maximum may be in the neigh- 1 supply of heat to ventional type,

A a spreading tool, such as a character (not shown)` Preferably, however,

bornood of 350 rt is therefore preferable to make provision forvarying the temperature to suit requirelfnents,` and in electrical `heating this may be effected in any conventional mannen the iron'is furnished with two or more heating elements connected with the switch 23 through the bus bars I 5 in such a manner as to enable the' sameto be vswitched on separately, or tw'o or more at a time, tosupply heat at different temperatures. In a specific arrangement, therearetwo different heating elements arranged so asto enable the same to be switched on separately, i. e. one without the other, or together, for the purpose of obtaining heat at three different temperatures, and there are three bus bars I5. The smtch 23 is adapted to have an off position andthree operative positions forV the purpose of connecting the heating Velements with the busbars in the mannerf aforesaid. In additiomthe arrangement may include a thermostat 'or thermostats inot shown)v of any conventional `type' adapted to controlthe theiron` soas to prevent vit from becoming overheated' to thc'detrinient of the leather. B-y meansof the temperature l.maybe lchanged while the machine is in operation Ii, however, the machine is intended to operateat a given temperature, for example upon .leathers of similar characteristics in so far as the same will stand heating to the same or substantially the same degree With.- out being detrimentally affected, the variable switch and, if desired, the thermostat or thermo- Y stats can be dispensed with. These form` no part of the inventionas they may be of any conbut for reasons stated they may be usefully provided in association with the electrical installation soas to enable different pieces of work to be subjectedto heat treatment lat different temperatures in the same machine.

For glove and garmen leathers a slicker 25 (see Fig. 3) is provided on the casting or carrier iin front of the staking knife or blade 1. This may be made of any suitable material and may be l used either cold, or heated to impart a final: ironing effect on the grain side of the leather. lil-` t'ernatively,` and for other classes oi leather, this operation may also be carried out Vby a roller 26 (Fig. l) instead of the slicker. The slicker 25 or roller 2li` can be heatedeither by gas, or electrically, for example fromthe-same source as the plate `Il, anyconvenient way. The slicker 25 may or carrier I by screw bolts or equivalent means and a clamp plate and the roller 26 may be mounted in a bearing 26a attached tol the casting or carrier i by stud and nut fastenings 26h (Fig. 2), screw bolts or equivalent means. Y

A work guiding roller 21 is mounted on the cast ing or carrier I, conveniently, by means orV hangers 28 attached to the carrier by means of lugs 29 and screw bolts 30 or the like. The guide roller 21 is preferably arranged for adjustment in a horizontal direction, for which. purpose the lugs 29 maybe slotted.

Mounted on the opposite casting or carrier 2 between the plate 4 and the guide roller 21 is blade 3| with a rounded operative edge which has a light staking effect on the leather. Conveniently this tool is attached to a holder 32,Y similar to the holder lo, by means of. fastenings of any conventional but preferably such as to permit of vertical adjustment of the tool on the holder, and the latter is mounted for adjustment B s0 as to enable the variable switch,

be attached to the casting horizontally on the parallel bars Il and is fixed after adjustment by means of binding screws or equivalent fastenings (not shown).

The castings or carriers l and 2 are detachably secured to the respective arms or jaws A and the same, together with the various attached members, to be applied to and removed from the arms or jaws as single units.

In the operation of the machine, the leather to be treated is placed betweenthe work treat ing members on the respective castings or carriers l and 2` when the arms or jaws A and B are in open position at the front end of the machine. The current is then switched on, if this has not already been done, and the leather is held against the front end of the table, i. e., by the operator, or by mechanical clamping means if such are provided, andwhich are brought into operation when the machine is started. As the arms or jaws A and B begin to recede they are automatically brought to the closed position as usual, whereupon the leather is engaged between the guiding roller 21 and the spreader 3l, the sole plate t of the iron and the brush i3, the front end of the iron and the staking tool 1, and between thev latter and the slicker 25 or the roller 26 as the case may be. On the backward strokes of the arms or jaws A' and B, the leather is therefore guided and spread (by elements 21, 3l) preparatory to being treated by ythe plate ll and is acted upon with varying pressure by the heated plate before being acted upon by the staking'tool 1, following which the leather is ilnally acted upon by the slicker 25 or roller 26. On the forward strokes Y of the arms or jaws A and B, when the work is released, the latter can be moved about by the operator and, if desired, the operator can turn i as hereinbefore mentioned.

With regard to the heat of the work treating tools, as the speed of travel of the heated iron over the surface of the work is much greater than with the ordinary hand iron, the iron may be heated to a higher temperature than usual with greater safety in connection with the more delicate leathers.

Referring again to the double staking action. this may be carried out by substituting for `the spreading blade 3|, a staking blade (serrated or wavy-edged, for preferencei for cci-operation with i the back roller 21. Thus in the operation of the latter construction, the ironing comes in between two staking actions. The back blade 3l and roller 21 stake the leather, then it is ironed, and' then, while in a heated and softened condi- A tion, it is again staked by the knife 1 and the front end of the iron, the ironing being performed with the leather under stretch as the result of being frictionally gripped fore and ait of the iron while held as already described.

lt may be emphasized that the invention, for the first time, enables machine ironing of glove leather to be done satisfactorily. In fact, one of the primary objects of the invention is to iron glove leather mechanically without pleating, without undue pressure, and while under tension, and to stake the skins before and after ironing, all in the one operation. So far as am aware, glove leathers, prior to my invention, could not mechanically ironedz without pleating, nor

without subjecting them to undue pressure, nor could they be staked, ironed and staked after ironing, in one operation. Moreover, heretofore no provision has been made whereby leather would be ironedv while under tension.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of treating leather, which comprises simultaneously staking two spaced portions of a piece ofleather, at the same time tensioning the leather between said portions, and ironingthe tensioned portion of the leather.

2. That improvement in methods of treating leather, which comprises tensioning. a piece of leather, simultaneously therewith staking it; to soften the leather and, while the leather is supported solely by tensioning it, ironing `it witha relatively light pressure.

3. That improvement in methods of treating secure by Letters Patent of leather, comprising tensioning and simultaneously.

staking a portion of a piece of leather, and promptly thereafter heating said portion of the leather while it is supported solely by being under tension. Y

4. That improvement in methods of treating leather, which comprises ironing a piece of leather, and simultaneously therewith holding the leather against the ironing surface solely by tensioning it.

5. That improvement in methods of treating leather, which comprises ironing va piece of leather, tensioning the leather thereby to hold it against the ironing surface, and supporting the leather with relatively light pressure against the ironing surface.

6. In a machine for treating leather, staking tools for engaging opposite surfaces of a piece of leather to stake the same, means operative in co-operation with the staking tools to tension the leather, and an ironing tool movable into a space between the staking tools'and the tensioning means and operative to increase the tension of the leather and to iron the leather while the latter is under tension only.

7. In a machine for treating leather, a heated tool for ironing a piece of leather, and two sets of staking tools spaced from each other by the heated ironing tool and operative to tension the portion of the leather between them, whereby the ironing of the leather takes place while the latter is under tension applied by the two sets of staking tools. v

8. In a machine for treating leather, an ironing tool, two sets `of staking tools spaced from each other by the ironing tool, said sets of staking tools comprising two spaced upwardly extending staking blades, and means to support and to move the ironing tool to a position below the operative upper edges of the staking blades, whereby the ironing of the leather takes place while the latter is under tension applied by the ironing tool and the two sets of staking tools.

9. In a machine for treating leather, a heated tool for ironing leather, a brush having bristles for holding the leather up yieldingly against the ironing surface of the tool, a set of staking tools arranged to engage opposite surfaces of the leather, and means for engaging the leather on that side of the ironing tool opposite to the staking tools and arranged to co-operate with the staking tools in tensioning the leather for both the staking and ironing operations.

10. In a machine for treating leather, a tool having a smooth heated surface for ironing a piece of leather, and spaced tensioning devices for holding the leather against the ironing surface of the toolby tension only during relative movement of the leather and the ironing tool while the latter is in contact with the leather.

l1. In a machine for treating leather, an ironing tool having a substantially convex surface for treating a piece of leather, and means for holding the piece of leather by tension only against the surface of the ironing tooly during relative movement ofthe piece of leather and the ironing tool, the arrangement being such that the leather is ironed initially at less pressure and subsequently at greater .pressure at the point of greatest convexity of the ironing tool.

12. In a machine for treating leather, an ironing tool having a heated substantially convex surface for treating a piece of leather, and means comprising staking tools for holding the piece of leather by tension only against the convex surface of the ironingtool during relative movement of the piece of leather and the co-operating ironing and staking tools, the arrangement being such that the leather is ironed initially at less pressure and subsequently at greater pressure at the point of greatest convexity of the ironing tool,

13. In a machine for treating leather, a pair of staking tools arranged to engage opposite surfaces of a piece of leather, an ironing tool positioned adjacent to the staking tools to iron the surface of the leather promptly after staking thereof, and a member operative to slick out and spread the leather and located adjacent to the ironing tool.

14. In a machine for treating leather, a pair of staking tools arranged to engage opposite surfaces of a piece of leather, an ironing tool positioned adjacent to the staking tools to iron the surface of the leather promptly after staking thereof, a second staking tool located adjacent to the ironing tool on the side thereof opposite to said pair of staking tools, and a heated slicker member to smooth and heat the surface of the leather following the operation of said second staking tool.

15. In a machine for treating leather, a pair of staking tools arranged to engage opposite surfaces of a piece of leather, an ironing tool positioned adjacent to the staking tools to iron the surface of the leather promptly after staking thereof, a second staking tool located adjacent to the ironing tool on the side thereof opposite to said pair of staking tools, and a heated roll to smooth and heat the surface of the leather following the operation of said second staking tool.

16. In a machine for treating leather, a pair of staking tools, an ironing tool located adjacent to the staking tools, members adjacent to the ironing tool on the side opposite to said staking tools to co-operate with the ironing and staking tools to tension the leather during ironing and staking operations, and a brush below the ironing tool to press the leather yieldingly against the ironing surface thereof and to brush the surface of the leather not acted on by the ironing tool.

1'?. In a machine for treating leather, upper and lower jaw members of a staking machine movable toward each other and also lengthwise of various lines on a surface of a piece of leather introduced between said jaw members, a pair of staking tools carried by said jaw members and arranged to engage opposite surfaces of the piece of leather, an ironing tool carried by the upper jaw member and arranged to have its ironing surface face downwardly to operate on the grain surface of the piece of leather and positioned adjacent to the staking tools to iron the grain surface of the leather promptly after staking thereof, and work engaging members carried by said jaws and operative in co-operation with the staking and ironing tools to tension the leather for effective ironing and staking thereof.

18, In a machine for treating leather, upper and lower jaw members of a staking machine movable toward each other and also lengthwise of various lines on a surface of a piece of leather introduced between said jaw members, a pair of staking tools carried by said jaw members and arranged to engage opposite surfaces of the piece of leather, an ironing tool carried by the upper jaw member and arranged to have its ironing surface face downwardly to operate on the grain surface of the piece of leather and positioned adjacent to the staking tools to iron the grain surface of the leather promptly after staking thereof, a second staking tool carried by the lower jaw member and located adjacent to the ironing tool on the side thereof opposite to said pair of staking tools, and a heated member carried by the upper jaw member to project downwardly adjacent to said second staking tool and operative to smooth vand heat the surface of the leather following the operation of said second staking tool.

19. In a machine for treating leather, upper and lower jaw members of a staking machine movable toward each other and also lengthwise of various lines on a surface of apiece of leather introduced between said jaw members, a pair of staking tools carried by said jaw members and arranged to engage opposite surfaces of the piece of leather, Van ironing tool carried by the upper jaw member and arranged to have its ironing surface face downwardly to operate on the grain surface of the piece of leather and positioned adjacent to the staking tools to iron the grain surface of the leather promptly after staking thereof, a work tensioning Ymember carried by the lower jaw member and located adjacent to the ironing tool on the side thereof opposite to said pair of staking tools, and a heated slicker member carried by the upper jaw member to project downwardly adjacent to said work tensioning member and operative to smooth and heat the surface of the leather following the operation of said staking and ironing tools.

20. In a machine for treating leather, a tool movable over the surface of a piece of leather to treat the same, electric heating elements associu ated with said tool to heat the latter while it moves over the surface of the leather, stationary contact members connected to a suitable source of electric current, and movable contact members in sliding contact with the stationary contact members and connected to move with the tool, whereby electrical connections are maintained betvveen'the heating elements in the tool and the source of electrical supply during operation of said tool.

2l. In a machine for treating leather, an ironing tool movable over the surface of a piece of leather to iron the same, electric heating elements associated with said iron to heat the latter, bus bars mounted on a stationary part of the machine frame and having connections to a source of electric current, and Contact members mounted to move with the ironing tool and in sliding contact with the bus bars, whereby electrical connections are maintained between the electrical heating elements in the ironing tool and the source of electrical supply during operation of said tool. i

22. In a machine for treating leather, an ironing tool movable over the surface of a piece of leather to iron the same, electric heating elements associated with said iron toheat the latter, bus bars mounted on a stationary part of the machine frame and having connections to a source of electrical supply, contact members mounted to move with the ironing tool and in sliding contact with the bus bars whereby ,electrical connections are maintained between the electrical heating elements in the ironing tool and the source of electric current, and a Variable switch having an off position and several operative positions and having electrical connections to control through the bus bars the application of electric current to the electrical heating elements in the ironing tool separately or two or more at a time, thereby making provision for varying the temperature of the ironing tool to suit the requirements of the leather undergoing treatment. 

